Cafe Latte
by HeartHangover
Summary: Ren, who is living a normal life, owns a small manga shop in Kyoto. One day, the famous actress, Kyoko Mogami, decides to visit to search for a 1980s manga. The moment they met each other, little by little, their lives change.
1. Chapter 1 - Open

**Chapter 1**

**OPEN**

"Destiny comes in a cup of café latte."

Dew drops greet the leaves good morning as the sun continues to rise and people welcome the day. The sea sparkles as the sun hits its surface. The wind blows a cool breeze. It is a good day for Kyoto.

Kyoko walked along the cracked-cemented sidewalk observing the surroundings and can't help but admire the city. '_Wa... Such a peaceful morning... Don't get to see a lot of this in Tokyo.' _She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and felt the cool wind slightly caress her cheeks. The fresh scent of nature was enticing and made her heart at peace. Then, she opened her eyes and came to a stop. She finally found the shop she was looking for.

"Well, here you are…" She smiled reading the shop's name. "Café Latte."

Her gaze shifted towards the door knob and saw the "Open" sign. She pushed the door slowly and went inside the store gracefully.

As she stepped in, she looked around and was amazed looking at tall shelves one after the other. She was astounded with all the mangas arranged alphabetically. Shelf after shelf, she scanned the mangas carefully. There were mostly old ones but she could spot some new ones too. _'I wonder if it's here. Please be here…'_ She pressed her lips hoping that she did not waste her time coming to the place. "Well, it's still 7:30 a.m. I still have more time." She said, giving a quick glance at her watch.

Ren was busy putting out the newly arrived mangas from the box and checking their condition when he heard the bell ring. "Yashiro, can you check who came in please?" He asked expecting a response, but there was only silence. He looked around and noticed his co-manager wasn't inside the room with him. Then, he remembered. "Oh yeah, He told me he was going to get more supplies for the café ten minutes ago." He placed the mangas in his hands back in the box and stood up. _'This is actually a rare occasion to have someone visit the shop early in the morning' _He thought to himself, walking out of the room while dusting off his hands.

Kyoko was immersed in her own thoughts while searching for the manga. _'I thought this was only a small shop. I mean I knew that there were a lot of manga titles beginning with D but I never expected this shop had almost everything. Looks like President Lory knows his manga shops.'_ She began looking at the bottom part and slowly went up level by level till she reached her height level and looked up. _'Damn. I didn't find the manga yet and there are still 4 more levels which I can't even reach.'_ She looked around for a step ladder but can't find any.

Ren spotted the figure at the "D" shelf and went over to assist the customer. "Can I help y-" But before he could finish the question, he suddenly found himself shocked at the woman standing in front of him. Probably around 163 cm, she had long, orange, soft curly hair and those honey-colored eyes sparkled like diamonds. She had a slender figure and her skin was flawless. He realized who this familiar female was.

She was none other than the famous actress, Kyoko Mogami. Starred in 28 movies, all of which were a hit, her fame was unstoppable. People would certainly die just to have an autograph from her, even Ren who saw all of those movies. And here she was; standing in front him without a single care in how she looks. She wore the simplest clothing: a plain gray t-shirt and jeans. She had no typical make –up on, none of those eyeliners and thick mascaras at all. Yet, her beauty still stood out. She was simply breathtaking. Ren was absolutely surprised to see her in his shop and he just couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Mou… This simply won't do. I need to get up there." Kyoko looked around once more and was startled to see a man standing at her right. "Eh-?"

Ren was still absorbed in observing her delicate features until he noticed his eyes met hers and came back to his senses. "Uhm, What are you looking for?" He asked politely, still starstruck.

"Oh, yes, I was looking for a manga called "Daydream" or "Dream Oracles". Actually, I'm not sure of the title but I can't find Dream Oracles in the bottom. So, I figured it must've been Daydream." Kyoko replied, looking at the upper levels.

Ren followed her gaze and wondered if she was looking for the old 1980s manga. "Was the author Hito Murami?"

"Yes! That's him. Did I get the title right?" Kyoko looked back at him gleefully.

Ren slightly blushed seeing the actress smile at him. "Uhm, yes, you were right. The title is Daydream. Hold on, let me get it for you." He reached for the book on the 3rd level and gently removed the dust off with his hand and gave it to her.

Kyoko received the book happily and touched the cover. She was certainly excited to read the manga. _'Yes! I finally found you! Yoka-'_

"Eto.. I don't really recommend that manga by the way. Uh-" Ren cleared his throat thinking that maybe he shouldn't have commented at all.

Kyoko stared at the man who interrupted her train of thought and began to digest what he said. "What? Why?"

"Well, uhm…" He loosened his tie. Maybe it was wrong that he tried to object her choice of mangas. After all, she's a famous star and he just owns a manga shop. "I think the story is kinda lame." Ren looked down hoping she won't get mad.

Kyoko's eyes widened at his blunt remark. _'Lame? Is this guy serious?' _ She was about to retort when she saw with her peripheral vision that there were tables laid out and so she took a glance. "You have a mini café in your shop?"

Ren looked back up and shifted his gaze to the café. "Yes, sometimes readers like to have a cup of coffee or tea while reading the manga they bought." He smiled and realized he wasn't the only one too.

Kyoko smiled and pointed to the café. "Can I sit down and have a cup of coffee too?"

"Oh! Yes." Ren immediately walked to the counter while she followed. "What coffee would you like?"

"Surprise me." Kyoko sat on the table right across the counter where she could see Ren preparing the coffee. She crossed her left leg over her right with the book on her lap observing his features.

He was tall, flawless skin, dark brown hair with bangs flowing nicely on his face, and he seemed like a soft spoken guy, could probably be a one-word man but he spoke earlier so that cancels that. He was actually handsome, a gentleman at that, and there was something about him that caught Kyoko's attention but she can't figure out yet.

She watched him walk to her table with the coffee in his hand, gently putting it down so as to avoid spilling. She looked down at the cup and was surprised. "Is this… café latte?"

'_Uh-oh… did I make a bad decision to go with that? Is she mad?' _Ren couldn't figure out if her reaction was good or bad. _'Maybe I should've gone with a machiatto instead.' _"Yes, uhm, you don't like it? I can change it right now." He reached out to get the cup back but Kyoko stopped him.

"No, I love café latte." She smiled.


	2. Chapter 2 - Drop In

**Chapter 2**

**DROP IN**

"Maybe I need to see you one more time."

"Yosh! Ren is going to be happy with the new coffee machine I got. I bought a lot of cute decorations too." Yashiro happily whistled as he drove back to the shop not expecting anyone special sitting there.

Kyoko took a sip of the coffee while reading the 10th page of the manga. The taste along with the sweet fragrance of the caffeinated drink seems to soothe her nerves. The story was getting exciting too. She was calm and peaceful, not getting preoccupied with the busy schedule and movie scripts. _'I wish I could have more of this._' Clearly, she was enjoying her morning.

Ren, who just finished taking out all the newly arrived mangas from the box and organizing them, went out of the room carrying one batch so he could arrange them on the shelves. As he was putting them on display, he kept stealing glances at the lovely woman sitting at one of the tables in his café. Was she enjoying her time? Should he make small talk? Is asking for an autograph too much? Then he took one long glance at her. And realized how simply stunning she was and he just wasn't at her level.

He walked back to the room and decided to take one more look at her when he was near her table. Then, he stopped. Both of their eyes met. Kyoko was looking at him too.

"Uhm, why is this book lame?" Kyoko closed the manga and pointed to the cover. "Is it because of the drawings?"

'_Shit! I thought she forgot about that.' _Ren felt 3 small teardrops appear at the back of his head. What was he thinking? Can't he just stop being blunt for a while because he was in front of the top actress in the country? But he had to make that remark and he did really mean that. "Uhm, you see, it's not the drawings. It's the story itself."

"The story?" Kyoko started listening more intently.

"Well, I hate the ending specifically. She wakes up from a daydream." Ren began to imagine the scenes in the book. "If I was the girl in the story, it would break my heart to know I never really had the guy in the end. It's just torture knowing it was all a dream. And-" He was about to continue explaining when he noticed Kyoko was staring at the book's cover, seemed to be thinking deeply.

Kyoko observed the characters on the cover. She looked at the female lead, who was smiling widely, and the male lead, which was holding her hand, happily skipping. It was a cute sight but then she noticed the picture on the bottom right. It was the female lead again but this time she was looking outside the window with a poker face and the happy couple skipping was in her cloud of thoughts. _'I didn't notice this. Was I too excited when I found the book that I didn't look closer?'_ She put the book down and began to wonder, _'If I was the girl in the story, how would I react?'_

Then, they heard the bell ring and the door open. It was Yashiro carrying the box of decorations.

"Tsuruga-san! I have a surprise for you in the car. You are not going to believe what a good deal I had this mor-" Yashiro almost dropped the box of goodies when he saw the familiar face looking at him too. "Ky- Kyo- Kyoko! I mean Ms. Mogami!" He ran to Ren's side and whispered, "What is a famous actress doing here in our shop?"

Ren placed his palm on his face and whispered back, "Can you keep calm? You might be making her uncomfortable."

Kyoko was surprised to see such an excited expression that it made her giggle. She put out her hand and said, "Just call me Kyoko."

Yashiro blushed. He suddenly felt smitten by that giggle and gentle manners. _'I think I'm going to melt. She's so beautiful and she doesn't even have make –up on. I guess that's why she's a big star. Amidst her success, she dresses simply and is not big-headed like the others.' _He was so immersed in his thoughts that it took a while for him to realize that Kyoko was putting out her hand. _'Oh crap! She actually wants to shake my hand. I… er… I'm about to shake Kyoko Mogami's hand! Is this real?'_

"Oy Yashiro." Ren elbowed him signaling him to shake her hand.

"Uh, gomen!" Yashiro finally shook her hand and bowed. "I'm still so surprised that such a famous actress would come to our shop." He smiled at her.

Kyoko smiled back and bowed with her head. "Your shop is nice."

Yashiro blushed again. He just couldn't believe how nice Kyoko is. Seeing her light expression made Ren blush too.

"Uh chotto matte Mogami-san…" Yashiro quickly ran to the backroom. He came back with a camera, pen and paper in his hand. "Can I ask for a picture and an autograph?"

Kyoko, who was in a questioning look at first, smiled at Yashiro and took the paper and pen. "Sure. It's no problem."

Ren smiled at Yashiro's kid-like face. It was like watching a kid getting excited for finally getting a toy he's always wanted.

Yashiro handed the camera to Ren. "Tsuruga-san, can you pls take a picture of us?" He asked him with starry eyes.

Ren nodded and took the camera. He adjusted the lens properly to focus. "Smile… 1, 2, 3..." He wasn't looking at the whole scene though, just at Kyoko's gentle face smiling sweetly.

Then, the song "Kissing" by Cream suddenly played in the room.

"Oh, that's my phone." Kyoko reached in her bag and answered. "Moshi moshi? Oh, Kanae! Hai, I'll come back now." She hung up, put the phone back in her bag and stood up. "Arigato for the coffee and the manga! I have to go." She bowed and hurriedly left the place.

"Welcome Kyoko! Feel free to come back anytime!" Yashiro waved his hand once and went to the counter hugging the paper and camera. "I still can't believe I got to meet Miss Kyoko Mogami! It's such a beautiful day!"

Ren just watched her back quickly disappear from the shop. The excitement is over.

In her hotel room, Kyoko sat on the chair beside the window. She was thinking back on what Ren had said about the manga. _'If I was the girl in the story, it would break my heart to know I never really had the guy in the end.' _She looked down from the closed window and saw a few people walking on the street. There were reporters going inside the hotel and the paparazzi waiting outside. Then, her eyes came across two high school students. They seem to be a couple. The two were laughing and the boy held the girl's hand which of course made the girl blush. At the sight of that, Kyoko asked herself, "How would I react?"

"Kyoko-chan!" Kanae went inside the room carrying a box of chocolates and flowers. "Where have you been this morning? President Lory was worried that you pulled another one of your famous' disappearing acts before a press conference. And look at what the hotel gave me! I'm so happy I got to have another major role. It's my 4th role where I actually get more than 5 lines!" She opened the box and showed them to her. "Come on, get one!" She smiled.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at her co-actress. "You could've at least knocked before you came in."

"Hey! None of that attitude today 'coz I'm in a good mood." Kanae brushed her long straight black hair with her fingers and sat on the bed eating one piece of chocolate. "And besides, Maria is in one of her hissy fits again. I don't want to stay in our room with her being like that."

Kyoko sighed. "Fine, make yourself comfortable. That kid can be horrible when she's like that."

Kanae nodded and ate another piece of chocolate when she noticed a book lying beside her. "What's this? This looks like a really old manga." She held the book up close to her face and scanned it. "Look at the drawings. It's ugly. Who draws like this these days? Ehh… Kyoko-chan, are you reading this?" She asked teasingly.

Kyoko glowered at Kanae. "You really think I'd read something like that? I found that lying on the sidewalk while I was walking back to the hotel. Tried reading a few pages but it just doesn't interest me."

"True. You don't even watch anime. And this book… Daydream? It sounds like a lot of crap. I hate daydreaming. And a famous star like you doesn't have time for that right?" Kanae giggled and stood up eating her 4th piece. "Well, I have to go to Jelly now and get my make up done. Are you coming? We have 4 more hours till the Press Con."

"Go first; I need to take a shower again." Kyoko looked outside the window again as Kanae left the room. She was observing the view this time. Kyoto seemed peaceful for her today.

On that same night, Ren and Yashiro just finished eating their dinner in their apartment. It was Ren's turn to wash the dishes and so he did while Yashiro sat on the couch and turned on the TV. "Tsuruga-san, I actually bought the DVD of the movie "Dark Moon". I wanted to watch the movie that made Kyoko famous again after meeting her today. Want to watch it with me after you're done there?"

"Sure." Ren replied casually.

When Ren was done, he sat beside Yashiro and watched him put the DVD in the player. They watched the movie again and Ren observed every feature of Kyoko in the movie and compared it to the image he saw that morning. It was different. Her persona in the movie was dark and evil but, in reality, she's gentle and nice. He remembered those eyes and that sweet smile. She had great manners and she was very simple. She wasn't a big-headed celebrity knowing her status. It was incredible.

Then, he remembered about the manga she was looking for. _'I wonder why she was looking for that manga out of all the other better ones?' _But he knew that was a question that will never be answered because he'll never get to meet her again. It was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity that day for Yashiro and him.

The next day, it was a gorgeous day for Kyoto again. The sun was shining brightly. You could even see a rainbow. The wind blew peacefully with the cool breeze. The morning dew greeted the leaves happily. Ren was brewing the coffee beans and cleaning the counter while Yashiro was putting up the decorations he bought yesterday.

They heard the bell ring again thinking it was just going to be a regular customer. But then Yashiro whispered, "Ren, look who dropped in today..."

Ren checked to see who came in and was surprised.

"Konnichiwa…" Kyoko was back.


End file.
